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1、英语国家概况知识点笔记Part One The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandLesson 1 UK land and people1. Names for BritainBritish Isles, Great Britain and England are all geographical names. British Isles are made up of two large islands (Great Britain and Ireland) and hundreds of small ones. Engla
2、nd is a political division on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom and the UK are official names of the state. 2. Position and Borders The UKs geographical position is marked by latitude 50N in Southern England and by latitude 60across the Shetlands. The UK is bordered on the south by the
3、 English Channel, which separates it from the continent of Europe. It is bordered on the east by the North Sea separating it from Belgium and Holland, and bordered on the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean separating it from Ireland. Its only land border with another nation is between Nort
4、hern Ireland and Ireland. 3. Political Divisions of BritainEngland (London), Scotland (Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff) (on the Great Britain) and Northern Ireland (Belfast) England is the largest, most populous, and wealthiest division of the United Kingdom. This English dominance is such that many peop
5、le use “England” to refer to the whole United Kingdom. This is not only incorrect, but may annoy people from other parts of the UK. Scotland is the second largest of the four nations both in area and population. Before Scotland formally joined the Union with England in 1707, it had been a unified st
6、ate independent of the UK for a long time. Wales is the smallest among the three nations on the island of Great Britain. Wales has been dominated by England since its union with England in 1536. Northern Ireland is the smallest both in area and population among the four nations of the UK. Since 1801
7、, Ireland had been part of the United Kingdom. In 1922, the Irish Free State declared its independence, leaving only six northeastern counties inside the Union to be called Northern Ireland. Under an accord in 1998, a semi-autonomous government was established mid-2000 in this region. 4. The Highlan
8、d Zone The highland zone is an area of high hills and mountains in the north and west that are frequently broken by valleys and plains. Scotland, Wales and parts of England are located in this zone. The highest point here as well in Britain is Ben Nevis at 1,343 meters. The Pennine Chain: “backbone
9、of England”, is a massive upland area extending north to south across England, starting on Englands border with Scotland and ending in the central England. 5. The Lowland Zone The lowland zone in the south and east consists mostly of rolling plains. Most of Britains population lives densely in the l
10、owland zone, which covers most of England. The metropolis of London and most of Britains large cities are located in the lowland zone. 6. Rivers and Lakes The UKs longest river, the Severn, is 338 km in length, beginning in Wales and entering the Atlantic Ocean near Bristol in England. The second la
11、rgest but the most important river is the Thames, which flows through Oxford and London. Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is the largest lake in the country. Lake District comprises 15 major beautiful lakes and has become a popular tourist destination. 7. Climate The overall climate in England is cal
12、led temperate maritime. This means that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0oC in winter and not much higher than 32oC in summer. It also means that it is damp and is subject to frequent changes. The changeability of weather helps the British become more adaptable, and the frequent dri
13、zzles and gloomy skies make the British tend to suffer SAD. 8. Ethnic Composition In historic times migrants from the European mainland joined the indigenous population of Britain during the Roman Empire and during the invasions of the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes, and Normans from Northern and West
14、ern Europe. The Irish have long made homes in Great Britain. Many Jews arrived in Britain toward the end of the 19th century and in the 1930s. The large immigrant communities from the West Indies and South Asia date from the 1950s and 60s. 9. Demographic Composition Compared to the rest of the world
15、, the UK has a smaller percentage of younger people and a higher percentage of older people. Life expectancy in 2005 was 75.94 years for men and 80.96 years for women. England is the most populated part of the United Kingdom, with four-fifths of the UK population residing in England. The UK populati
16、on is overwhelmingly urban, with 89.4 percent living in urban areas and 10.6 percent living in rural areas. 10. Linguistic Composition Today English is the official language of the United Kingdom and is the first language of the vast majority of its citizens. Of the surviving languages, the earliest Indo-European language to arrive was the Celtic, from which Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic, among others, have developed. Of these, Wel
